text: The glycerol-3-phosphate shuttle is a mechanism used in skeletal muscle and the brain that regenerates NAD+ from NADH, a by-product of glycolysis. The NADH generated during glycolysis is found in the cytoplasm and must be transported into the mitochondria to enter the oxidative phosphorylation pathway. However, the inner mitochondrial membrane is impermeable to NADH and NAD+ and does not contain a transport system for these electron carriers. Either the glycerol-3-phosphate shuttle pathway or the malate-aspartate shuttle pathway, depending on the tissue of the organism, must be taken to transport electrons from cytoplasmic NADH into the mitochondria. The shuttle consists of the sequential activity of two proteins; Cytoplasmic glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (cGPD) transfers an electron pair from NADH to dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP), forming glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P) and regenerating NAD+ needed to generate energy via glycolysis. The other protein, mitochondrial glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (mGPD) catalyzes the oxidation of G3P by FAD, regenerating DHAP in the cytosol and forming FADH in the mitochondrial matrix. In mammals, its activity in transporting reducing equivalents across the mitochondrial membrane is considered secondary to the malate-aspartate shuttle.